


wanna hit the street (wanna wail at the moon)

by lovebeyondmeasure



Series: zvezda moya [8]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Blackhill Week 2018, Cats, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Slice of Life, welcome back Astrid the Cat!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 20:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13466160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovebeyondmeasure/pseuds/lovebeyondmeasure
Summary: Maria realizes that Natasha's goddamn cat has gone missing. That's only the beginning of the problem.





	wanna hit the street (wanna wail at the moon)

**Author's Note:**

> There are seven other works set in this universe, and most are quite short, but the only one you really need to know who Astrid the Cat is: [per aspera ad astra](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12085098).
> 
> For day 3 of BlackHill Week: Liho / Animals. My little universe has its own Liho ([and she's very beautiful](http://lovebeyondmeasure.tumblr.com/post/165299322404/)).
> 
> Title from "Out Tonight" from RENT.

When she couldn’t find Astrid at first, Maria wasn’t worried about it. The lithe grey cat often disappeared for hours at a time, turning up on top of a cabinet or inside a laundry basket or once, memorably, inside a Louboutin shoebox. So not seeing her all morning wasn’t surprising in the least.

Around lunchtime, Maria noticed that the water level in Astrid’s dish hadn’t changed from that morning. Thinking back, actually, from the night before. That was definitely odd. 

By the time Natasha got home, Maria had rummaged her way through nearly the entire apartment, and Astrid still had not turned up.

“I’m home!” Natasha called, dropping her go-back by the door and kicking off her shoes. “What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for Astrid!” Maria called back, giving up on the guest room closet and checking once more under the guest bed. Natasha walked in and paused to enjoy the view.

“Stop staring at my ass and help me find your goddamn cat,” Maria said, shoving aside the boxes in the vain hope that Astrid would be behind them. 

“I’m getting predictable,” Natasha said, not moving. “Why are you worried about Astrid? You never worry about her, you call her a, what was it? A mooch, you call her a mooch and tell her to fuck off.”

Maria straightened and looked at her girlfriend, mouth pursed. “I know I do, but that’s when she’s yelling at 4 in the morning. I haven’t seen her in almost two days, I think she’s missing.”

Natasha looked surprised. “You didn’t notice sooner?”

“She hides sometimes, you know that,” Maria said. “But I haven’t seen her, her water bowl is still full, and she hasn’t bothered me about food. Now I can’t find her anywhere and I’m afraid she got out.”

Maria was shocked at how unconcerned Natasha seemed. 

“She was a stray cat for years,” Natasha said. “She’ll be fine, she’ll come home eventually.”

“How can you be so sure?” Maria demanded, still kneeling on the carpet next to the bed. “What happens if someone else decides to take her home? We never got her chipped!”

“Maria, _zvyozdochka_ , she’s probably still in the building,” Natasha said soothingly. “And of course she’ll come home, she loves this place. Stray cats will come back to where they’ve found food and shelter before, and she’s never had it so good until now.”

Maria stood, walking over to be enveloped in her girlfriend’s arms. She laid her head against Nat’s shoulder and sighed. 

“You’re probably right,” she said. “I’m just worried about her.”

“And here I thought you hated our cat,” Natasha teased gently.

Maria jabbed one finger into Natasha’s side. “Shut up, you know how I express affection.”

Natasha kissed her cheek. “Yes, _zvyozdochka_ , like this,” she said. “Come, let’s google for how to lure our stray back home, then let’s eat something, yes?”

“Yes,” Maria responded, kissing her. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Natasha said, grinning. “Come. You google, I cook.”

Three days later, Natasha away on another mission, Maria awoke to find a grey lump asleep on the cat bed on their fire escape. She danced a silent jig in the bedroom, then went into the kitchen, opening a can of Astrid’s favorite food and dishing it. She opened the window closest to the kitchen and, with a sniper’s patience, set up her laptop and waited.

Two hours later, the softest padding alerted Maria that her bait had been found acceptable, and she looked up to see her wayward feline eating the bowl of Meaty Turkey and Giblets Dinner as though she hadn’t eaten in days. Maria immediately ran to slam the window shut.

Astrid sat there, staring at her balefully.

“Don’t look at me like that, you scoundrel, you’ve been gone for nearly five days, you’re not trustworthy anymore,” Maria said sternly. Astrid blinked at her and went back to eating, practically licking the bowl clean.

Maria inspected her carefully as she ate. The most obvious change was that a sizable chunk of her left ear was missing, and had long since scabbed over. Maria sighed. 

“Were you out scrapping with the real savages?” she asked, leaning against the counter. Astrid, unconcerned, began licking her paw. Her normally white paws were brownish-grey, and Maria was concerned. If she had any other injuries hidden in her fur, and dirty, she could get in infection. Maria sighed again.

“I have to take you to the vet, don’t I,” she said to the cat. “You beast. When Fury told me to enjoy my goddamn vacation days before they disappeared, I really didn’t think that was going to be what I did.”

She had, in fact, entertained visions of actually _going_ somewhere, but had decided against it because honestly, she hadn’t felt like wearing a bra. Now, facing her unapologetic cat, she was glad she’d stayed home.

Getting Astrid into the cat carrier was even less fun that waiting for her to come home. Using the last of the leftover shrimp lo mein, Maria lured her close enough to shove inside, and locked the door before Astrid had time to turn around.

“I know,” Maria said, looking through the grate at the betrayed green eyes that glared from within. “But you need a checkup, and a chip. No buts, young lady.”

All the way to the vet, the normally dignified Astrid expressed her displeasure, vocally. Extremely vocally. Maria tipped the cab driver nearly 40 percent for putting up with them for the fifteen minute ride, and went in to the office.

Maria took heart from the fact that she was not the only one in the waiting area with a displeased pet; the woman whose dog was whining up a storm made eye-contact that said, “see what we put up with for love?”

When Maria was able to bring Astrid back, the young tech who was going to take care of them told her to “release your cat, let her acclimatize a little, then let me know when you’re ready for me.”

Maria followed her instructions, letting Astrid wander and poke at the room, her tail stiff and huge. After a few minutes, she called the tech back in.

“Alright, so the notes said your little lady got out?” the cheerful young woman said. “I can see from her ear she’s a scrapper.”

“Yeah, she was originally a stray from- uh, the streets,” Maria said, catching herself at the last minute before giving away that her cat was, in fact, an illegal immigrant. “She was out for a couple of days, but came home eventually.”

“Many cats do,” the tech said, her blonde ponytail swinging. Astrid was sitting in the corner, her eyes fixed on the swaying gold. “So you just need a lookover, and a new chip?”

“Well,” Maria said. “We’re not actually sure she was ever chipped, we kind of took her in ourselves. So, yes?”

The tech laughed. “That’s not generally the recommended course of action for pet owners,” she said admonishingly. “But it’s a little late for that, I think. She’s your cat now, no denying it.”

Astrid had taken up a position under Maria’s chair, and was staring up at the tech, tail whipping back and forth. Maria felt a warmth spread through her chest at this clear sign of trust from her goddamn disaster cat.

“Well, since she’s been out and about, here’s what I recommend. I’ll get some drugged snacks for her, you feed her, it’ll only put her out for an hour or so. That’ll be plenty of time to do a thorough check for any other injuries, and to chip her, and you’ll be able to bring her home this afternoon.”

“Perfect,” Maria said. “Thanks so much.”

“No problem,” the tech beamed at her. “I’ll be right back.”

Maria sat quietly in the room after the tech left, letting Astrid make her way out and up onto the counter, where she went into loaf mode and watched the room suspiciously. 

She was even more suspicious after the tech came back in, gave Maria the treats, and left, but after a while, gave in to the scent of liver and ate it all.

The tech came in after Astrid had gone completely boneless, draped across the counter. The tech casually scooped her up, depositing her on the counter.

“You don’t have to stay,” she said cheerfully. “We have you number, you can go down to the Starbucks on the corner if you want. This isn’t exciting and could take a while.”

“Really?” Maria had few positive associations with hospitals, and the vet’s offices smelled enough like a hospital that she wasn’t super comfortable. She was up in a moment.

“Anything you need to do,” she said before leaving, “do it. I have a lot of money saved up, and this is my girlfriend’s baby. Just go ahead.”

The tech nodded, and Maria left. In the Starbucks, she drank her Americano and read a French newspaper on her phone. She was halfway through an article about a new potential law concerning people with superhuman abilities when she got a call.

The voice of the tech came through, and the girl sounded like she was trying not to laugh. “Ms. Hill?”

“Yes? What is it?” Maria asked, standing and walking briskly out onto the sidewalk, back towards the vet.

“Were you aware that your cat is not spayed?”

“Was I….. what?” Maria blinked hard. “No, of course she is.”

“She’s not. Our records indicate that when she was first brought in, she was underweight and ineligible for the procedure, and has not been brought back since.”

Maria walked in silence. Natasha had been the one to bring her, that first time. Your cat, your appointment, Maria had said. Shit.

“Ms. Hill?”

“So we need to get her spayed, then,” Maria said. “Ok, we can do that.”

“Well….” the tech sounded unsure. 

“Oh my god, what,” Maria said,using her Commanding Officer voice without thinking.

“Wow, yes ma’am!” The tech said, thankfully laughing. “The thing is, she was in heat recently, which may explain why she made an escape. It’s common behavior for cats in heat to try to get out and find a mate.”

“Oh my god,” Maria said again. “No.”

“Your cat shows signs of recent sexual activity,” the tech said. “And the spaying procedure is more complicated when a cat is in heat, or has recently been in heat, due to the increased blood flow to the uterus and-”

“So what you’re saying is,” Maria said, rubbing her eyebrow, “my cat may be pregnant, and it’s inadvisable to perform a cat abortion because it could hurt her?”

“Well, yes,” the tech said. “We still could, of course, if you’d prefer. Many cat owners would like to avoid a pregnancy, if possible.”

“And there’s no…. morning-after pill for cats?” Maria asked, grasping. “Okay, I can’t believe that just came out of my mouth.”

The tech was really laughing now. “Sadly, no, and it’s possible it’s been more than a few days now. So give us a call back, or come back to the office, and we can plan a course of action for you and Astrid here.”

“I’ll be there soon,” Maria said, and hung up. Should she…. no, she should call Natasha.

She texted her girlfriend: `Astrid isn’t fixed, is now possibly pregnant. Abortion or kittens?`

Natasha appreciated brevity in her written communications.

Maria stood outside, waiting for a response, watching people walk past, each one caught up in their own personal problems, their own little world.

Her phone rang. She accepted the call, and the first thing Natasha said was, “Kittens?”

“Yes, your precious daughter has gone out and met a man,” Maria deadpanned. “The tech said she went into heat, that’s why she escaped, and that, quote, the spaying procedure is much more complicated when a cat is in heat, or recently in heat, due to the increased bloodflow to the uterus, end quote.”

“Your voices are improving,” Natasha said approvingly. “And I’m sure that was the exact wording. Excellent job. So our options are kittens or complicated spaying procedure?”

“Yes,” Maria said. “And she’s your cat, so it’s up to you.”

“ _Zvyozdochka_ , we established three days ago that she is your cat as well,” Natasha said. “Which would you prefer?”

“Well, the surgery would definitely be easier in the long run,” Maria said. “But I want to make sure that you’re sure. Do you want the kittens?”

Natasha was a lesbian who’d been forcibly sterilized, who had never wanted children. But suddenly, she had a fierce rush of kinship with her cat, who had this one chance at motherhood.

“Yes,” Natasha said, impulsive in a way she rarely allowed herself to be. “Yes, let’s have the kittens, Maria.”

“This cat is your daughter, she’s going to be your problem,” Maria said warningly, but she’d known, somehow, that Natasha would want them. She’d known how this call would go, in some corner of her heart.

“Maria,” Natasha said, her voice rich and warm, “our _grandkittens_.”

“Oh my god,” Maria said. “No, no, they are not our-”

“My daughter is having grandkittens!” Natasha’s voice was gleeful in the way that she only ever was when making a pun. “We shall name them after constellations!”

Maria sighed, smiling. “All right, yes. But we can’t keep them.”

“Can we keep one?” Natasha asked.

Maria hesitated. 

“Just one. We can’t take all her babies away,” Natasha said. Something about her seemed vulnerable, even over the phone.

“Maybe one,” Maria allowed. “I have to go tell the vet that our slutty cat gets to keep her illegitimate children.”

“Go, then, _zvyozdochka_ , with my blessing,” Natasha said. “I love you.”

Maria loved the way Natasha said that, soft, like a secret. “I love you too.”

“Update me promptly, please,” Natasha said. “Grandkittens!”

Maria hung up, and turned to go inside. “Grandkittens,” she repeated under her breath. “Oh my god.”


End file.
